Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday confirmed that his party will be taking part in the upcoming all-party meeting. He stated that SP’s Principal Secretary General, Ram Gopal Yadav, will attend the meeting and present the party’s views. Yadav also condemned the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, emphasizing that terrorism has no religion and urging political parties not to exploit the tragedy for political gain. Meanwhile, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi has also confirmed his participation in the meeting after receiving a personal invitation from Union Home Minister Amit Shah via phone call.
The all-party meeting, convened by the central government to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack, is scheduled for 6 pm on Thursday at the Parliament and will be chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Speaking to the media in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav said, “Samajwadi Party has decided that Ram Gopal Yadav will attend the all-party meeting and present the party’s stance. We strongly condemn the attack and demand strict action. Terrorism has no religion, and its goal is to spread fear and disrupt trade. No party should try to gain political mileage from this.”
Earlier in the day, Akhilesh Yadav also raised concerns about the sharp increase in airfares from Srinagar following the Pahalgam attack, which left 26 people dead. On social media platform X, he called the fare hike “inhuman” and “highly condemnable,” questioning whether the government had a role in it.
He said, “The arbitrary rise in airfares from Srinagar during such a tragic time is unjustifiable. The government should clarify whether it is complicit in this exploitation. The public believes that if the government collects taxes on these fares, it might be in connivance.”
Similarly, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi confirmed that he will attend the all-party meeting after a personal invitation from Amit Shah. Owaisi said, “The Home Minister called me and invited me to attend. I will book the earliest ticket to be there.”
This follows Owaisi’s earlier concern that smaller parties were initially being excluded from the meeting. He shared on X that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had mentioned they were considering inviting only parties with five or more MPs, citing time constraints.
Owaisi questioned this rationale, stating, “This is an all-party meeting on a national issue. Whether a party has one MP or 100, they represent the people and deserve to be heard. Can’t the Prime Minister spare an extra hour to listen to everyone? This should be a true all-party meeting.”
The terror attack in Pahalgam, one of the deadliest since the 2019 Pulwama attack, saw terrorists ambush tourists at Baisaran meadow, killing 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen, and injuring several others.